Rachael Lillis, a voice actor who brought to life many of Pokémon‘s most beloved characters, has died at the age of 46.
Lillis was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. Her sister announced her death in an update to a GoFundMe page supporting Lillis’s medical treatment.
“With a heavy heart, I regret to say that Rachael has passed away. She passed peacefully Saturday night, without pain, and for that we are grateful,” Laurie Orr wrote.
Lillis is best known for voicing the character of Misty in the English version of the Pokémon anime series. Misty was the main female protagonist of the series’ first five seasons, travelling alongside Ash Ketchum and Brock on a series of adventures before returning to her original job as leader of the Cerulean Gym. Her spot in the main trio was taken over by characters May and later Dawn.
Lillis also brought to life one of the show’s main antagonists, Jessie, a member of Team Rocket along with James and a talking Pokémon, Meowth. Team Rocket would devise hare-brained schemes to steal Pokémon, often involving over-the-top mechanical robots, only to be thwarted by the trio of heroes.
Beyond Misty and Jessie, Lillis also voiced Jigglypuff, a pink singing Pokémon.
The voice actor of Ash Ketchum paid tribute to Lillis on X, formerly Twitter, calling her an “extraordinary talent” and a “truly special” friend.
“We all know Rachael Lillis from the many wonderful roles she played. She filled our Saturday mornings and before/after school hours with her beautiful voice, her terrific comic timing, and her remarkable acting skills,” Veronica Taylor wrote.
Taylor lamented how Lillis “burned bright and vanished too soon.”
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“I was lucky enough to know Rachael as a friend. She had unlimited kindness and compassion, even until the very end. She had a great sense of humor, was wonderful to be with, incredibly intelligent, and had such a memory. She worked hard and cared deeply,” Taylor wrote.
“I am not sure how this very dark void will be filled now that her light no longer shines in it,” Taylor added. “She will live on in our memories for eternity.”
Lillis began voice acting in the 1990s and appeared in hundreds of TV shows, movies and video games throughout her decades-long career.
Apart from Pokémon, she starred in the beloved Italian American cartoon Winx Club and the critically acclaimed animes Your Lie in April and Hunter x Hunter. Lillis often appeared at anime conventions where she met fans from around the world.
Despite her death, donations to Lillis’s GoFundMe are still flowing in. Her sister says the remaining donations will go towards ongoing medical bills and a memorial service for her. The leftover money will be donated to cancer causes.
One fan, Angela Tan, donated money after Lillis’s death and wrote that the actor “made my Saturday mornings so much more exciting growing up.”
“(T)hank you for being a huge part of my childhood and shaping who I am today! I will continue to rewatch Pokemon in your memory.”
Another fan, Robel Loul, wrote that they “wouldn’t be who I am today without amazing voice actors such as Rachael bringing life to the characters who gave me motivation, strength, taught me never to give up and just overall blessed me with an amazing childhood.”
“She’ll outlive us all with the amazing characters she brought to life. A form of eternal life if you will. And that makes me truly happy,” Loul wrote.